On Saturday night at UFC 148 Team Alpha Male fighter Chad Mendes will take on former TUF contestant Cody McKenzie in a featherweight showdown.

Chad Mendes was last in action against UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo at UFC 142 where he suffered his first career defeat via KO in the first round. With Aldo widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Mendes need not feel any shame in defeat at the hands of such a high level warrior like Aldo.

Mendes recently spoke to Thomas Gerbasi from the UFC about the Aldo fight:

“It’s a tough thing to deal with at first, but I understand that it’s a part of the sport, and something that happens in every sport,” he said. “You’re gonna lose sometime, and for me, I haven’t lost at anything for a long time and I hate losing, but I looked at my mistake, and I saw what I did wrong. I had the back for a very, very short time, I should have kept the pressure going forward instead of backing up and trying to shoot. But what can you do now? You just look back, learn from it, and try not to make that same mistake ever again.”

Chad Mendes was undefeated prior to the Aldo fight having built up an impressive 11 fight winning streak beating notable fighters such as Erik Koch, Cub Swanson, and Rani Yahya. Mendes now prepares to take on the dangerous Cody McKenzie who has built up a reputation for his patented guillotine choke submissions.

“From the beginning I’ve been training with guys like Joseph Benavidez and Urijah Faber, who have the best guillotines in the world, I’d say,” he said. “They can catch anybody at anytime with them, and it’s something I’ve had to deal with since Day One. I can’t count how many guillotines I got caught in the first week I was here training, and it’s definitely something that we’re focused on because we know it’s Cody’s go to move. It’s his power move and it’s probably what he’s banking on to win this fight.”

Out of the 13 MMA fights Cody McKenzie has won during his career, eleven of them have come as a result of his patented guillotine choke. The 24-year-old was last in action at UFC on FUEL TV 3 where he defeated highly decorated wrestler, and UFC newcomer Marcus LeVesseur in the very first round with his McKenzietine technique. McKenzie has trained with Team Alpha Male so Mendes knows what to expect.

“Some of the other guys have rolled with him and trained with him doing MMA stuff and jiu-jitsu, but I only got to do boxing sparring,” said Mendes. “I think the best way to describe Cody is, he’s funky. He’s just awkward. He’s one of those guys where you’re sparring him and you’re getting hurt because he’ll throw a punch and hit an elbow, you come in to throw a punch and you stub your toe on his toe. (Laughs) Body parts are everywhere at all times and he’s southpaw and tall too, so it makes it even more awkward. So I’m definitely not taking this fight lightly. I’ve been training just as hard as I was for Aldo, and I want to get in there and finish him. Coming off that loss, I want to prove a point, and I think finishing Cody will make that point. That’s the plan, I’m gonna get in there and go after it.”

UFC 148 takes place this coming Saturday July 7th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Mendes vs. McKenzie will be part of the main card on the night which will air on PPV.

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